6 Creative Ways To Afford A Home

If your income and savings are making homebuying a challenge, consider these options.

Investigate local, state, and national downpayment assistance programs. These programs give loans or grants to cover all or part of your required downpayment. National programs include the Nehemiah program (http://www.getdownpayment.com) and the American Dream Downpayment Fund from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (http://www.hud.gov).

Get the seller to provide financing. In some cases, sellers may be willing to finance all or part of the purchase price of the home and let you repay them gradually, just as you do a mortgage.

Consider a shared-appreciation, or shared equity, arrangement. Under this arrangement, your family, friends, or even a third-party may buy a portion of the home and thus share in any appreciation when the home is sold. The owner/occupant usually pays the mortgage, property taxes, and all maintenance costs, but all investors' names are usually on the mortgage. There are companies that can help you find such an investor if your family can't participate.

Get help from your family. Perhaps a family member will loan you money for the downpayment and/or act as a cosigner for the mortgage. Lenders often like to have a cosigner if you have little credit history

Lease with the option to buy. Renting the home for a year or more will give you the chance to save more toward your downpayment. And in many cases, owners will apply some of the rental amount toward the purchase price. You usually have to pay a small, nonrefundable option fee to the owner.

See if you can qualify for a short-term second mortgage to give you the money to make a higher downpayment. This may be possible if you have a good income and little other debt.

Town & Country, Inc. Realtors® is a registered trademark licensed to Town & Country, Inc. Realtors®. Town & Country, Inc. Realtors®
is licensed in the State of Tennessee. Each Town & Country, Inc. Realtors® office is independently owned and
operated.

The data relating to real estate for sale on this website comes in part from the IDX Program of the Central West Tennessee Association of Realtors® Multiple Listing Service. Copyright 2015 MLSCWTAR. All Rights Reserved. IDX information is provided exclusively for consumers' personal, non-commercial use and may not be used for any purpose other than to identify prospective properties consumers may be interested in purchasing.

The accuracy of all information, regardless of source, including but not limited to square footages, lot sizes, or school districts, is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed and should be independently verified through personal inspection and/or with the appropriate professionals. The information contained within this website is provided solely for informational purposes and does not constitute an offer to sell, rent, or advertise real estate outside the State of Tennessee. The owner is not making any warranties or representations concerning any of the properties listed including their availability.

If you are NOT represented by a real estate agent or broker, I would love the opportunity to help you with your real estate services. Please contact me regarding ANY of the properties listed on this website. If you ARE represented by a real estate agent or broker, please contact them regarding any property you locate on this website. It is not my intention to solicit offerings from other agents or brokers.

The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in the sale, lease, or rental of housing, or making housing otherwise unavailable because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, or disability.